


Time Traveler

by cocosnowlo



Category: Radiant Historia
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Cross-posted on FF.net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet Collection, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Trauma, Stocke is just tired, Time Travel, give this man a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-17 06:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14183445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocosnowlo/pseuds/cocosnowlo
Summary: Stocke has been traveling through time for a long time now. How long exactly he doesn't remember. His friends are worried but they cannot tell what's wrong... A collection of additional scenes and rewritten canon moments, starring Stocke and his friends.





	1. Time traveler's fate

Stocke was tired, dead tired. But the long rest he needed was not an option right now. Ever since he got the White Chronicle from Heiss he had completely lost his sense of time. It was not unusual for him to leave one point of time in the morning and re-appear in another point late at night. Other days, he arrived early in the morning in another time and had to survive an entire day although he hadn't slept for 30 hours.

His friends were often worried when they noticed his exhaustion. Forced him to take a break. At the same time, nobody could explain why he was so exhausted all the time. He had promised not to tell anyone about the book and he did understand why this was necessary. For everyone's safety, he kept it to himself.

Every day he had to make up excuses, every day he spent time with people he now knew so well and at the same time, he kind of did not. Because at one point of time they knew something, in another time they did not. As if that was not enough, Stocke had to remember what they knew in the past and what hadn't happened yet. It was confusing. And sometimes, it was hard for him to share a casual conversation with his comrades.

Although he was surrounded by so many friends, he was still lonely. It was a different kind of loneliness than the one he had felt as a spy. That one he had chosen and theoretically, there had always been the option of telling somebody. Keeping secrets was also part of the job but those weren't secrets affecting _himself_ as much as the time traveling.

He felt the worried glances on him every time he returned from a time travel. He didn't know what exactly he looked like to the outside in these moments but he guessed he gave the impression of being in a daydream. Rosch was especially wary whenever a node transported Stocke to his side. What did he say it back at the beginning – Rosch felt death around him?

Rosch had been his best friend – and he still was. But at the moment, it felt more like he had 100 different Roschs as a best friend. One who was desperate, one was at his side, another one was still mad at him for staying with Heiss... Reality hadn't been the same for a long time. It wasn't _real_ anymore. Stocke could undo some events, everything became relative. Of course he was thankful for this power. He was able to bring friends back to life. But was all of that even right? Should anyone even be allowed to have so much power?

"Stocke? Earth to Stocke!"

Stocke was looking up. He had been so deep into thought that he had almost forgotten he was still in the Sand Fortress. At a point of time in the alternate history before the real tragedy had begun...

"Hm?" he replied. Rosch looked at him suspiciously. They sat across each other at the community table. They were the only ones at their table. Most of the other soldiers were busy with watch duty or rested for the moment they got new orders.

"Did you even hear what I was saying?"

"Uhm, no, sorry."

Rosch sighed and looked at him with an annoyed yet worried gaze.

"Are you alright? You looked like you were at a completely different place."

_Which I was..._

"Everything's fine. So, what did you just say?" Stocke asked to avoid that conversation.

"Hey, I'm serious. You're acting really strange lately... Since the day you went on that first mission for Heiss with Raynie and Marco."

"Rosch, knock it off, I'm-"

"No, Stocke, I don't think so. You're so absent-minded all the time. You seem to forget things. And then there are these bouts of fatigue..." Rosch enumerated fretfully. „If you still haven't recovered from that injury, then-"

"I am! Rosch, I'm fine. And you really shouldn't think about me so much when we are at the front line. You have a..."

Stocke stopped himself. He had wanted to say Rosch had a group of young soldiers to lead. But he couldn't say it. That sentence would burn into Rosch's mind after the inevitable tragedy happened.

So instead, he stood up and went away with quick steps.

"Stocke! What is wrong with you?"

Stocke wanted to leave the room. But at the same time he didn't want him and Rosch to fight, not in a situation as difficult as this.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to argue with you. But seriously, there's nothing you should worry about. Please just... trust me."

He left then, in hopes he had been able to make at least some things right.


	2. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco and Raynie are wondering why Stocke is so tired all the time.

"Stocke? Hey, you're so pale again, you gotta sit down?" Raynie asked.

For a moment, Stocke had to recollect what had just happened... and where he even was right now. He had just arrived from the past. He had wanted to travel into the future. Which he had obviously accomplished. A future in which they were on the move at Lazvil Hills. Raynie and Marco at this point of time didn't know but Stocke had been awake for many hours, far more than you would call normal. He was exhausted to the bone.

Yet he said, "No, it's fine, really."

"Stocke..." Marco began but didn't know how to finish the sentence. Stocke could see the worry on his friend's face. He wanted to help, obviously. Sometimes, it was hard for Stocke to keep everything from these two... It felt like he didn't deserve friends this loyal when he wasn't telling him about most of what he thought or did. Even if he manipulated time for their sake too.

"Guys, don't worry."

"How couldn't we, Stocke, we are a _team_!" Raynie replied. "We're taking a break now, it's decided."

Stocke sighed in defeat. He would have insisted to move on, but the fatigue was wearing him down and making it hard to think. After they had found a safe spot and put down their things, he was immediately asleep against a tree trunk that was suddenly very comfortable.

Marco and Raynie watched their teammate with concern.

"Do you think that injury is still bothering him?", Raynie whispered.

"I don't know... But right now, he just looks like he hasn't slept in a week."

"But he has! Last night, next to us... Or hasn't he?"

"He has. I'm a light sleeper, I would have woken up immediately if he had left," Marco answered.

Raynie sighed, still staring at Stocke's sleeping form.

"Something isn't right, but what is it... I'm a bit worried, Marc."

"Yeah... Maybe we could ask someone who knows him longer than we do? Someone else might know what's going on," Marco suggested.

"We could ask Captain Rosch... But who knows when we're gonna return to Alistel."

"Depends on our mission I guess."

They shared a moment of silence, none of them having an idea how to deal with the problem. Stocke didn't talk much about himself. He rarely talked at all. And he seemed dead set on not telling from what was going on.

"I don't think there's any other way but to make him talk somehow," Marco said.

"But _how_?"

"I haven't got a clue... But let's think about that tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you, Stocke. Future chapters will be longer!


	3. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stocke returns to Celestia in the alternate timeline to get save his best friend in standard history.

The broken arm's dead weight was lying heavily in Stockes arm as he paced through the town of Celestia. He felt a sharp sting in his heart every time he looked back at the nightmare scenario he had just left behind in the other timeline.

He had killed his best friend. Rosch had been serious, he hadn't listened to anything he had said. He would have killed him. So Stocke had fought him, targeted his artificial limb until he couldn't move it any longer. He had struck his friend, again and again, until he had been lying in front of him. In a pool of his own blood. Just what had he done?

The fact that he could go back in time didn't change the fact that what he had done was horrible and wrong.

Stocke wanted to leave and sit down in an empty room. He wanted let out all the sorrow that he had banned to a corner of his mind until the piles were taking up all the space. But he couldn't and he wasn't  _allowed_  to. He had a task to accomplish. The destiny of the entire world was lying in his hands. For the ultimate goal of a safe world he had to see friends die. Over and over again.

He tried to pull himself together. He took some deep breaths until he could at least stop the urge to cry. He grasped the Gauntlet tighter and stepped out of the protection the trees provided, towards Sonja.

"Stocke? What... Oh my god, is that... Rosch's Gauntlet? Where did you get this?"

He ignored the question, he couldn't tell her.

"Can you remove the core parts you need for Rosch from this?"

"Stocke, how on earth did you..." Sonja began but when she saw the firm expression on his face, she paused. She hesitantly took the mechanical arm and took a closer look at it.

Stocke waited for her assessment patiently.

"Yes, the core seems to be still intact. However..."

"Hm?"

"I don't have the tools necessary to take the parts out. I had to leave all of them in my lab in Alistel when we escaped. We can't possibly go back there."

Stocke couldn't suppress a sigh. He knew what this meant for him. Sonja seemed to interpret his sigh as one of desperation. She looked at him downheartedly.

"I am so sorry," she apologized. She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"I'm going to take care of this, don't worry," Stocke promised and took back the Gauntlet. He then went off, feeling Sonja's confused gaze in his back.

* * *

 

When he returned, a few hours had passed for him. For Sonja in this future, it had probably been just a few minutes. He had considered to wait some hours on behalf of his cover. But Celestia was facing a war, he just didn't have those hours.

Sonja froze when she saw him approaching.

"Stocke! Are those Gauntlet core parts? Wait, those are the parts I took out for you some time ago, aren't they?"

"Can you get Rosch's arm to work again with those?"

Sonja was absolutely stunned.

"I... Yes, for sure. But Stocke, that doesn't mean that Rosch will change his mind. Is there no other way?"

"Lieutenant general Raul can't go out onto the battlefield, that's not his strong point. We need Rosch. And he wants to go out there, I know it. We just have to get him out of his trance."

Sonja didn't seem to be convinced but she didn't say anything. How else could Stocke make his position clear without telling her that Rosch would otherwise  _die_  in a parallel world? That they would lose the war and the entire world if Rosch couldn't pull himself together?

"Nobody else can do what he can right now, Sonja. Please... trust me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part of the game was probably my favorite. I wrote these scenes down from memory. Hope you like it!

**Author's Note:**

> I started playing the RH remake two weeks ago and WOW, despite being super busy I just couldn't stop playing. I'm through the main game now, just have to hit the bonus content.
> 
> I hope you like it so far. Be prepared for some more pained Stocke in this fanfic, I'm a mean person for hurting my favorite characters so much. :D


End file.
